Turns out AT&T was the only bidder for Time Warner

Chairman and CEO of Time Warner Jeff Bewkes arrives at the 2011 Time 100 Gala ceremony in New York
Thomson Reuters

Time Warner Inc. Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes said on Monday that AT&T was the only company to make a takeover approach for the media group.

AT&T said on Saturday it had agreed to buy Time Warner for $85.4 billion, or $107.50 per share, to gain control of cable TV channels HBO and CNN, film studio Warner Bros, and other coveted media assets.

"Nobody else approached the company for a deal," Bewkes said in an interview on CNBC.

Ahead of the deal's announcement, several media outlets had reported that Apple had also been interested in acquiring Time Warner.

Time Warner's shares were down 1.4 percent at $88.19 before the opening bell on Monday. AT&T's shares were down 2.3 percent at $36.62.

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee and Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)